The Buzz 12.22.22

FREE SPEECH

There are ongoing business challenges for news organizations in a world dominated by digital platforms. Research shows that when readers view a news story on Google, 65 percent do not click through to the original website – meaning advertising dollars disproportionately benefit Google (or Facebook, etc.), rather than the news outlet that produced the work. One attempt to address that discrepancy is the federal Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, a bipartisan bill that would create an antitrust exemption and give media outlets the ability to negotiate jointly with Big Tech platforms for compensation. While many in the industry support the JCPA, some do not. In a Dec. 5 letter to congressional leaders, representatives of groups including Creative Commons, Electronic Frontier Foundation and American Civil Liberties Union wrote the bill should not be passed. Their concerns include no guarantee that payments would ultimately go to journalists; the ability of large publishers to benefit disproportionately to small ones; and unique challenges for free content. “The JCPA sets a legal and political precedent that some uses of content that were once free of charge now require payment,” they wrote.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I’m confident she’s going to take it to the next level and just soar.” - Retiring County Administrative Officer Charles McKee on Sonia De La Rosa, who will become the next CAO on Jan. 9 (see story, mcweekly.com)

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD:

The numbers are still being tallied, but the good news is that over 300,000 monarch butterflies were counted during the annual Thanksgiving Count between Nov. 12 and Dec. 4, at 183 overwintering sites up and down the coast of California. Those figures come from the Xerces Society in an announcement on Dec. 7. That number of monarchs hasn’t been seen since the fall of 2000, and is well over last year’s count of 247,000. The largest gathering of the butterflies this year, just over 34,000, was at a site on private property in Santa Barbara County. Pacific Grove had nearly 16,000 butterflies as of Dec. 4, according to the P.G. Museum of Natural History, the organization tasked by the Xerces Society to keep track of the population at all the sites in Monterey County. A second New Year’s Count takes place Dec. 24-Jan. 8. The final tallies will be announced in late January.

GREAT:

Each November the Big Sur Food & Wine Festival takes over the Big Sur Valley, hosting events both big and small on private coastal properties as well as well-loved venues like the Alila Ventana resort and the Henry Miller Memorial Library. The all-volunteer organized and run event attracts guests from around the world – many of whom come back year after year. As the name suggests, a lot of great food and wines are consumed and it’s all for a good cause – the nonprofit Big Sur Food & Wine Foundation (which also runs the Big Sur Fashion Show) donates its earnings to local nonprofits working in the areas of health, safety, education and the arts. For 2022, the foundation donated $210,000, in varying amounts, to 17 nonprofits. It’s a strong new record for the Foundation, which formed in 2016. In 2021, by comparison, they donated $150,000.